Welcome to the Comparative Cognition Laboratory

Who We Are

We are interested in human sociality: How it develops through ontogeny (development), what makes human social life possible and sustainable (cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally), and how similar it is to the social life of other animals. Comparative cognition offers a way to determine which socio-cognitive skills are uniquely human, and to what degree there is continuity between our human abilities and those of our closest relatives (the great apes) — and other non-human animals. Through this work, we can explore the evolutionary origins of the human mind.

CCL organizes interdisciplinary research aimed at studying the cognitive behavior and abilities of children, adults, and a variety of non-human animals.

Current Research Projects

Our lab primarily explores the evolution and ontogenetic development of social accountability. We aim to learn more about human social life and cognition through cross-species and cross-cultural comparisons.